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Joe Staley looks after Alex Smith on the field. Off it, he looks after the 49ers' less-established players. (AP)

Give him the NFL’s anonymous, modest-salaried and hard-pressed to make the roster and Joe Staley will give them free boarding.

As it turns out, the 49ers left tackle looks out for more than Alex Smith’s blind side.

For the past several seasons, Staley has invited teammates, mostly members of the practice squad, to live for free in his three-bedroom house. The outgoing Staley says he likes the company, but he’s also aware it helps fringe players make ends meet in one the most expensive areas of the country to live.

“It helps out some guys so they can just focus on football,” said Staley, who signed a six-year, $42 million extension in 2009. “They don’t have to worry about the rent and where the money is going to come from.”

In past years, Staley, who is single, has counted fullback Brit Miller, tight end Joe Jon Finley and offensive linemen Jeb Terry, Joe Toledo and Tony Pashos as housemates. Wide receiver Joe Hastings and linebacker Eric Bakhtiari are living with Staley this offseason. Hastings spent most of last year on the practice squad while the recently signed Bakhtiari had stints on the 49ers’ practice squad in 2008 and ’10.

A player can earn $96,900 if he spends a full season on the practice squad. Not bad money, but it doesn’t go quite as far in Santa Clara as it does in San Bernardino.

Just ask Bakhtiari, a Burlingame native who has periodically lived with his parents during his nomadic, four-year NFL career. Bakhtiari, who has been on the practice squad of seven teams, proudly says he hasn’t signed a lease since 2010.